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JHromadka · Apr 20, 2003, 06:35 PM

I have a PowerBook G4 400 and over the past month, battery life has been getting worse and worse. I probably averagey 40-60 of power on a single charge! I used to get 2.5-3 hrs. I'm worried because I'm going on an international business trip next month and need as much battery life as possible.

Are there any utilities that can check the battery to see if it is bad? How long should the battery last? Any recommendations on where to buy a replacement battery?

I'm running Mac OS X 10.2.5 w/ 384 MB RAM on Airport.

AssassyN · Apr 20, 2003, 08:21 PM

I'd highly recommend calling AppleCare; if you describe to them what kind of time you're getting from a single charge, it should be a dead giveaway to them that something's faulty and they'll send you another one.

JHromadka · Apr 20, 2003, 10:13 PM

There is an Apple Store near me. Would they replace it if there was a problem?

AssassyN · Apr 20, 2003, 10:18 PM

Originally posted by JHromadka:
There is an Apple Store near me. Would they replace it if there was a problem?

Awesome, they should hand you a new one right at the store with no questions asked if you can show them how terribly short the battery is holding it's charge. The most work you should have to do it let them see how little charge it holds...good luck!

dampeoples · Apr 20, 2003, 10:34 PM

I just called Applecare to get mine fixed. The tech ran through a few tests (PRAM, fsck, and something else, I forgot) then deemed the battery bad. I don't think there's much of a test, unless they have some sort of machine in the service center or store

Mskr · Apr 21, 2003, 05:27 PM

My wife's machine has the same problem, but we're out of warrenty and never got AppleCare extension (I know, I know, stupid me...). Is there a definite way of testing this besides buying a new battery? I'll try zapping the PRAM tonight, just to see if it helps. One of the very wierd symptoms is that it will say that it has >70% of the battery life, but then gives a warning about how it's on reserve power, and that she needs to plug it in...

Any insights?

AssassyN · Apr 21, 2003, 10:55 PM

Originally posted by Mskr:
My wife's machine has the same problem, but we're out of warrenty and never got AppleCare extension (I know, I know, stupid me...). Is there a definite way of testing this besides buying a new battery? I'll try zapping the PRAM tonight, just to see if it helps. One of the very wierd symptoms is that it will say that it has >70% of the battery life, but then gives a warning about how it's on reserve power, and that she needs to plug it in...

Any insights?

Zapping the PRAM is about your only option besides taking it to an Apple Store or having it sent off by Apple. The problem is, with no warrenty, that'll cost you more than just buying a new battery. That last symptom you mentioned sounds like a dead giveaway to a dead battery, but hopefully it's not, and will revive itself w/ a PRAM zap. Good luck!